Amal the puppet represents Syria girl and a reminder of the flee to safety from the war. Amal is Arabic for Hope. Saturday 23rd October 2021 there was hope in London. I joined the walk in the afternoon arriving in the Southbank Centre to await Amal. It was a wonderful atmosphere with children & parents enjoying singing and crafts waiting for Amal. I was impressed with the children's knowledge about & concern for refugees... a product of school project study and parents sharing.
Wow the mechanics of this tall puppet is awesome. Something special was happening as she wandered in the crowds.. She exuded character as if a real being. Full of care & compassion, a sense of grace & humility, there was shyness, playfullness even flirtatiousness with her eye movements. She was bringing the crowds together as one big family with chatter and sharing among the strangers that began to link heart to heart. I met up with special people in the crowds. A mix of all our communities, with me being able to speak a few words in the languages of that mix.
It was good to be near St Thomas's hospital too where over the years seen 1000s of London babies in the world as a midwife. Looking at some of the older children in the crowd wondering if they had been my deliveries.
But on a personal level with Amal I felt I was linking up with my Syrian families I befriend that are in Turkey. Amal started her journey in Gazientap Turkey by the Syrian border. I called her over to me when she was outside the National Theatre.. Amal! Amal! Gazientap! Sanilurfa! the operator heard my call and came to me.....I HELD the HAND of Amal and was so moved as if I was holding hands with the family I cared for. Shukran thanks for this. I was with some Indian women in the crowd and with my travel to India and studying world relgions with Sathya Sai Baba in his Ashram, it felt like I was taking Dharsan from Amal. Very very powerful experience.
